The Effects of Digital Competence and Digital Assistance on Social Capital and Mediating Effects of Mobile Device Use of Adults with Physical Disabilities: Multi-group Comparison Analysis of the Elderly and Young Adults

Abstract

This research examined whether and how the digital competence and digital assistance of adults with physical disabilities affect their social capital with a special focus on the role of mobile device use as its medium. A group comparison study was conducted between the elderly and young adults since that the above process would be different for these two age groups of the physically handicapped. The subjects of analysis were 1232 adults with physical disabilities, which were extracted from the respondents of the 2020 Information Gap Survey. First, according to the structural equation model analysis, the bridging social capital of adults with disabilities was directly affected by their Internet use ability and digital assistance, but also indirectly affected through the use of mobile information. The multi-group comparison model analysis revealed that the effect of digital assistance on the use of mobile information and the effect of the Internet use ability on bridging social capital were significantly greater for the elderly thatn for the young. These results suggest that informatization education for the physically disabled should consider the characteristics of the elderly with disabilities. This study emphasizes the need to help the local community digitally to promote the use of mobile information by people with physical disabilities, while considering strategies that can enhance the bridging social capital of the elderly with physical disabilities.